


God Bless This Broken Road

by MichLC



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), olicity - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 14:28:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6288220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MichLC/pseuds/MichLC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This idea has been rolling around in my head.  Not having any clue how or what Oliver is going to do win Felicity back, but I do picture it being slow and gradual.  Rebuilding trust is hard.  So to regain trust, you have to open yourself up a bit.  So this is a short interpretation as to how I think it will start and a little timeline too.  I hope you like it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	God Bless This Broken Road

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Oliver and Felicity..." the minister's voice faded into the background as Oliver and Felicity stared at each other.  Neither of them smiled and Felicity held back tears.  This was not how their wedding was supposed to go.  The room should be filled with their closest friends and family.  There should be a ton of flowers, but most of all, they should be smiling.  They should be happy this was happening, but it was a ruse.  They needed to catch Cupid before she hurt anyone else.

It was Felicity's idea to stage this fake wedding.  Oliver was completely against it and had no problem letting the team know he was not ok with this scenario.  After all, they always find another way, but after several attempts, they were unable to catch her.  They unanimously voted against him.  God, he missed the days where he was in charge and made all of the decisions!  This democracy crap was for the birds!  Lyla was also putting some pressure on John, and when it came to his wife, John rarely went against her, no matter how many times he called her sweetie.  He admired him for that and they were alike in that sense.  Oliver always listened to Felicity.  Even when he didn't want to.

"Oliver, would you like to say your vows?"  The minister asked.

Oliver looked at the woman briefly and turned back to Felicity.  He didn't really have any vows, even for their real wedding.  He wanted to wing it.  Immediately, he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

Taking her hand, he started, "Felicity, there are never enough words to describe how I feel about you.  The first time I saw you, I knew you would change my life even then."  Oliver knew she was thinking about the first time he bought that bullet ridden laptop to her, but that wasn't the story he was about to tell.

"I stood in the shadows trying so hard not be seen and in you walked right into my mother's office.  I watched as you put a file down on her desk and stared at a picture of me and my father.  You said I was cute," Oliver noticed an immediate response in her eyes at that statement.  "It truly was the first time I had smiled in three long years.  Then when you said you really need to stop talking to yourself, it was all I could do to not laugh out loud.  Then I thought to myself, how could anyone so beautiful and honest think someone like me is cute?  I mean, right?  I looked like a serial killer in that picture!"  He exclaimed, and then the sweetest sound came out of Felicity's mouth; she laughed.

Just then, the back doors burst open and Cupid ran in ready to kill.

>>>\--------------->

Oliver sat at the enormous glass table and stared at the far wall thinking about all that had happened in the last few months.  So much had changed.  Oh, they'd captured Cupid and sent her back to ARGUS and they won the war against Damien Dhark.  They'd even got close to catching Malcolm, but he'd slipped through their fingers like a ghost in the night.  He never even contacted Thea to let her know.  It would only be a matter of time before he surfaced, and when the time came, Oliver would kill him.  He promised the team and he swore to Quentin Lance.  Laurel's death would not go unavenged.

Laurel...the funny thing is, Oliver felt no guilt over her death.  She made her own choices.  She told him that on more than one occasion.  She died saving her father and even though Lance doesn't quite see it yet, she died a hero.  It's exactly how she would have wanted.  One of the last things she had said to him was "Oliver, stop being an idiot!  Open up to Felicity.  Open up to someone for crying out loud!  That may be the only thing that saves what's left of your relationship with her."

Oliver sighed and checked his watch.  It was already well after midnight.  Everyone had gone home for the night.  He was already home.  He brought his things to the lair after Felicity walked out on him because he couldn't bear the thought of her living in a hotel room.  So he made sure she remained in the home she loved.  Tonight, he would start down the road of earning Felicity's trust back.

>>>\--------------->

Felicity stared out the bedroom window and watched as the first light of dawn appeared in the sky.  She hadn't had a full night's sleep in weeks.  She'd doze here and there, but trying to get a full three hours or more was just not in the cards.  Ever since the night of the fake wedding, Felicity had been questioning her decision to leave Oliver.  She loved him. God, did she love him, and after hearing about when he first saw her, a flicker of hope sparked in her heart.  Should she dare trust him again?  He said he was trying, and up until that moment, he had, but sending his son away without even discussing it with her had been the last straw.  Sighing loudly in frustration, Felicity got up.  It was Saturday and she didn't need to go to Palmer Tech, but she did need coffee.

Making her way to the kitchen, Felicity noticed a small package next to the coffee maker.  Her name on a small card indicated to her that Oliver had been in the loft.  How had she not heard him?  Of course he still had a key.  It was still his place too.  She felt guilty that he was living in the lair again.  As nice as the new lair was, it was still a home underground with no natural sunlight.  There was no modern furniture.  Oliver's only companions were the computers, mannequins and artificial lights.

Felicity picked up the package and weighed it in her hand.  It felt like a book and it was somewhat light.  Pulling the card off, she opened it to Oliver's handwriting:

_My dearest Felicity,_

_There truly are no amount of words to describe how I feel about you.  I love you.  I want to be your husband.  I want to start a family with you.  I want to grow old with you.  I've never wanted anything more but I know these things are out of my reach; at least for now.  You once told me marriage was about inclusion and that I didn't know how to do that.  Wrapped in this package is the first step towards proving to you that I am ready to be everything you want me to be and more.  My hope is that if nothing else, it will help you understand me more.  My desire is that we can someday find our way back to one another._

_Always yours,_

_Oliver_

Felicity had no idea what he was giving her but seeing as how she hated mysteries, she tore through the paper quickly.  She was astonished to find Oliver's journals.  For months, she had watched him write in them.  He had told her once that it was his own form of therapy.  Felicity never pressured him to tell her about what he wrote.  She knew it was about the five years he was believed dead.  She believed in time that he would tell her about everything.  She believed they had time until she didn't.

Felicity placed the books down on the counter and proceeded to make her coffee.  It was going to be a full pot kind of day and she was anxious to begin her reading.  While the pot brewed, she turned around and looked out across the room out of the floor to ceiling windows.  The sun started streaming between the buildings and she knew it was going to be a beautiful spring day.  Her plan had been to do some retail therapy and maybe meet up with Lyla and Sara for lunch, but she knew there was no way she could leave this loft without first reading these two journals.

Fixing her cup of coffee to her liking, she picked up the books and made her way to the couch.  It was still a bit chilly.  So she wrapped the chenille throw from the couch around her shoulders and made herself comfortable.  She stared at the journal's cover while she took the first few sips of coffee.  While every fiber of her being wanted to rip right into this book, she hesitated.  She knew Oliver had lived through hell but a small part of her was afraid to know exactly what kind of hell.

"Suck it up Smoak," she whispered to herself and opened the cover.

>>>\--------------->

Oliver had spent the weekend taking his frustrations out on the lair's punching bag.  He'd alternate between punching and kicking while throwing out the occasional roundhouse kick.  He always thought better when training.  He could easily tune out the world and just concentrate on the movement of his muscles.  Only this time, thoughts of Felicity occupied his mind.

It had been almost a full 48 hours since he snuck into the loft and left his journals for Felicity.  He hadn't heard a word from her, and she hadn't been in touch with the rest of the team other than to text Diggle to let him know she couldn't help the team this weekend.  She knew how important it was to find Malcolm.  So she was either so disgusted by what she read in his journals, or she needed time to process what she read.  Either way it couldn't be good.

"Damnit!"  He shouted when he realized his last roundhouse kick broke the punching bag.

"You know, maybe we should consider buying stock in the company that makes those," came the sweet, familiar voice.  Startled, Oliver turned around to find Felicity standing not 20 feet from him.  "We could make some more seed money, don't you think?"  She asked.

Oliver laughed and took a step towards her.  To his surprise, she didn't take a step back.  "Felicity, I..." he started but couldn't continue.  He stared at his feet for a moment and closed his eyes.  Taking a deep breath, he looked back up at her.  "How are you?"  He asked.

"I'm ok Oliver.  Tired, but ok.  Sleep hasn't been my friend lately," she replied.

"Ha, I know the feeling," he said.  "Did you get my gift?"  He asked.  He had to know if she read them.  He noticed her hands shook a little and his eyes briefly lingered on her left hand because of course it was her left hand that he noticed the most.

Noticing his stare, she said with a laugh "way too much coffee this weekend."  She held her hands together to quell the shake.  "I got your gift Oliver, and to be honest I wasn't sure I wanted to read them, but then you know how I hate mysteries.  I spent the entire weekend at home and read every...last...page."

For a moment, they just stared at each other.  For the first time, Oliver could not read what Felicity was thinking or feeling, and he feared what was going to come out of her mouth next.  He took several more steps towards her until he was close enough to touch her.  A small ray of hope burned bright in his heart.  It was now or never.

"And what did you discover, Felicity?"  He asked and held his breath.

Felicity hesitated.  She knew she needed to find the right words and she took his hand in hears and took a step towards him.  Because of their height difference, she had to crane her neck a bit.  Taking a deep breath, she said, "I discovered...that you are the bravest man that I have ever known."

Oliver took her in his arms and they held onto each other for what seemed like hours.

>>>\--------------->

1 week later.....

Oliver moved back into the loft.

 

2 months later.....

Oliver proposed to Felicity for a third time but with a different ring.  He decided Thea should keep their mother's engagement ring and he and Diggle shopped for a week until he found the perfect ring for Felicity.  Diggle was so happy to be a part of the decision.

 

8 months later.....

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Jonas Queen!"  Announced the minister.

Everyone stood and the room was awash with happy shouts and applause as Oliver and Felicity made their way down the aisle, hand in hand, towards their future.

 

1 year and 7 months later.....

Oliver, Thea and Diggle cornered Malcolm Merlyn in the old warehouse by the docks and before Oliver could take his kill shot, Thea put an arrow through Malcolm's right eye.  Later, she told Oliver that it was only right that she be the one to take him out for Laurel.  She and Laurel were as close as sisters and Laurel's death took a piece of Thea's heart.

 

1 year and 11 months later.....

Roy and Thea marry in a small ceremony attended only by Team Arrow, Team Flash, Quentin Lance and Donna Smoak.

 

2 years and 3 months later.....

Oliver and Felicity welcome their daughter Emma Donna Dearden Queen into the world.  Her Aunt Thea couldn't help but nickname her 'Little Arrow,' and while Oliver was not amused, Felicity couldn't help but giggle.

 

6 years and 8 months later.....

The Queen family expanded and welcomed Thomas Robert Jonas Queen into the family.  Felicity was in labor for 32 hours and the doctors were insisting on a c-section, but the tough as nails wife of the Mayor of Star City wouldn't hear of it.  Both mother and baby were healthy.

 

9 years and 1 month later.....

William Clayton knocked on the door of the Queen home.  He had watched Oliver's recorded message the year before when his mother gave it to him on his 18th birthday but couldn't bring himself to visit his father.  When a drunk driver killed his mother, he needed to feel like he belonged somewhere, and he wanted to join the team.  Oliver took the same approach he had with Roy until eventually William became the new Green Arrow.  Oliver was still Mayor of Star City and after almost 20 years of fighting and getting shot, he knew it was time to retire and enjoy the rest of his life with his wife and children.  A few months later, William had his last name legally changed to Queen.

 

44 years and 4 months later.....

Oliver Queen took his last breath in the arms of his wife Felicity.  Almost every citizen in Star City attended his funeral.  After Oliver's funeral, Felicity had given Oliver's old journals to their daughter Emma.  The legacy of the Queen family was written in the City's history books.  Only 4 sentences were dedicated to Oliver's life before the Queen's Gambit sunk.  The rest was devoted to his and his wife's accomplishments, and generous donations to rebuilding the Glades.  Smoak Technologies continued to develop new ways to improve the lives of amputees and the disabled with giving special considerations to Veterans.  Curtis Holt was the appointed CEO of the company but he was often found at the Queen home collaborating with his best friend Felicity.  Three months after Oliver's funeral, Felicity joined Oliver in sweet peace.  After Felicity's funeral that evening, and after everyone had gone to sleep, Emma and Tommy stood staring at the fireplace in their parent's home, feeling the warmth of the flames.  Emma held her father's journals in her left hand.  She nor Tommy could ever bring themselves to read them.  Their Aunt Thea had told them a few stories and they had heard rumors, but she knew the man in those journals was not the man they knew.  Sure, they knew their father was the Green Arrow and their mother Overwatch, but to them, they were just mom and dad.  They loved them with all their heart and missed them terribly.  The stories of the old Oliver Queen could be just that...stories.  Whether grounded in truth or considered legend, they had agreed the stories should die with their parents. Let people believe what they wanted.  Gently throwing the journals into the fire and closing the screen over the opening of the fireplace, a single tear fell down Emma's cheek.  She turned to Tommy and he held her in his arms gently.  The Queen family's legacy will live on in them.

>>>\--------------->THE END>>>\--------------->

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and I love feedback and kudos!


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